Our Story
by Huntress4455
Summary: "Belle was in my arms. She was the light. She had brought it here. My eyes hadn't met the light for quite sometime. Could I adjust to it?" Basically, a "history" of our favorite OUAT couple, Rumbelle. Starts off from "Skin Deep" and ends at "The Crocodile". Written in Rumplestiltskin's POV.


A/N: Hello fellow Oncers! You've managed to stumble upon my very first OUAT fanfic (as well as my first fanfic _ever_) And who else to write it about, but OUAT's favorite couple, Rumbelle. Go easy on me, this is my first ever fic, as I said. Hope you all enjoy it! ^_^

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time. :P**

Our Story

When I first saw her, I only thought of her as a pawn. Another pawn in my relentless attempt to find my precious Baelfire. I had even outright stated that I wasn't looking for "love", but as they say, it always appears unexpectedly and as a surprise.

A kingdom was being attacked by ogres, a fear I could relate to. They were the very repulsive creatures that had caused me to flee with my son and eventually end up with the Dark One's powers, only to lose my son to those wretched powers that had corrupted me. But, thinking back on those ogres, I knew how desperate the kingdom was to consult me…and I certainly did have a deal, for _nothing _ever comes without a price.

King Maurice had first offered me gold, a notion I had found completely preposterous. Why give me something that I could produce perhaps infinite amounts of? My price had been her, my precious Belle.

To this day, I can still remember the shock (not fear) upon her beautiful visage and the determination of her father and her betrothed to not let her go. Apparently they hadn't been _that _desperate. However, I had been watching her for many months and I knew of her bravery. And as I expected, she gave in, agreeing to stay with me forever (oh, I wish that had been true) and had eventually saved her precious kingdom.

"Oh…and you will skin the children I hunt, for their pelts."

The idea itself was enough to form copious amounts of goosebumps upon the skin of my arms. After what had happened to my son, the thought of children being harmed was something I didn't like…_but_ I had only said this to make sure my servant had been listening to me and wasn't preoccupied with her thoughts.

She hadn't, apparently. She looked up at me, her blank expression immediately morphing into worry and fear. With a gasp, the teacup that she was about to fill dropped to the ground. Her blue eyes met mine and widened in shock, as if to say, _"Are you serious?"_

"_That _one was a quip. Not serious." I curtly reassured her with a grin. And they say _men _don't listen.

She let out a sigh of relief and nodded assent. When she bent down to retrieve the cup, it suddenly occurred to me that I should find her more suitable clothing for a meager job as hers. This golden dress was _far _too elegant…but she would have to make it herself, of course.

"Oh, my…I'm so sorry, but-" She stood up and held the teacup so I could see it, "-it's chipped."

I peered closely. Sure enough, there was a teensy, _tiny_ chip in it. But where was she going with this? I gave her a look that plainly meant, _"Go on"_

"You…you can hardly see it."

She turned it at an angle so the crack wasn't visible. I immediately understood what she was talking about and was glad to have a serious, responsible servant that wouldn't let a single thing out of place.

"Oh, it's just a cup." I airily responded; waving my hand to show it didn't matter. She sighed in relief, just as she did before, and commenced pouring my morning tea.

Just a cup? I would soon end up nearly beating a man to death for it.

Over the course of many months, I had definitely put her in the most uncomfortable of states, considering the fact that she had been a princess. I gave her at least twenty or thirty chores a day and forced her to stay in a room that was no better than a dungeon…when there were many, _many _other comfortable places for her to dwell in. Thinking back, I _wish _that I made her time at the Dark Castle more comfortable.

She went to her "room" every night and it was obvious to any fool that she was fatigued. Despite this, I never saw her complain once or even saw a look of disgust and unwillingness come across her pretty face. The castle looked better than it had in centuries. Pretty good for a princess.

Her determination, bravery, and selflessness had intrigued me. How on Earth could a single person have done this? Sacrificed their life of high status to become a mere servant, all for the sake of their kingdom? If I had been in that situation, I can safely say that, even today, I would not have done it.

It was something I could never relate to, bravery. Being branded a coward after leaving from a war? Not being able to give up my powers in order for a better life for my son and me? The complete opposite of what it means to be brave.

The first day we had any actual interaction was a day I have stored in my memories forever.

It was a casual day. She was doing the chores that I had set out for her and I was spinning the wheel. Despite the fact that she had all of her chores, she stood upon a tall stepladder, attempting to do something with the drapes that hung over the giant windows on the far side of the dining hall.

I wasn't paying attention to what she was doing, though. I had lost myself in a stupor again, spinning yet another basket of straw into gold. It was something that I did every day for nearly hours on end…yet I didn't have much use for the gold.

So it was a shock to me when she finally spoke, breaking the silence that always came between us, for we didn't speak much.

"Why do you spin so much?"

The sound of those six words knocked me out of my stupor and caused me to cease the rotation of the wheel. I closed my eyes, knowing that she wasn't being nosy with this question of hers. She was curious…and I liked that about her.

Apparently she thought she _was _being nosy, for she quickly apologized, as I was about to give her an ambiguous answer.

"Sorry, it's just…you've spun straw into more gold than you could ever spend."

I opened my eyes and commenced the wheel again, prepared to give her my answer.

"I like to watch to wheel. It helps me forget."

Silence. She was expecting more, wasn't she?

"Forget what?"

I halted the wheel again and allowed a beat of silence to come between us. "I guess it worked."

I turned and let out a giggle, my signature, high-pitched, little giggle. It was one many people had found rather creepy and, of course, odd over the centuries, yet to my surprise, she didn't wince in fear. Instead, she chuckled and she her head in disbelief, as though I was a young child who had done something wrong.

I then decided to stretch my legs awhile, for it seemed like I had been spinning forever. As I observed her, I realized that she was pulling apart the drapes, as though she was attempting to bring them down or something.

"What are you doing?" I questioned curiously, standing at the very foot of her stepladder.

"Opening these-" She gestured to the drapes, "It's almost spring. We should let some light in."

Spring…had it really been that long? She had come during the middle of winter, so…about four or perhaps five months of servitude to me. Time sure passed quickly and I was impressed with her determination and effort.

Her grunt as she attempted to move the drapes dragged me out of these thoughts.

"What did you do? Nail them down?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." I frowned in confusion. It wasn't difficult either, having been the Dark One with magical powers. I simply didn't fancy lights being in a room like this, but a bit more importantly, I didn't want that bitch of a queen watching me through the reflection of the glass. It might not happen, but it was an extra precaution (along with covering up all the mirrors) so that she wouldn't be seeing everything that I was doing with her magic mirror. Didn't she have better things to do…like getting revenge on her stepdaughter?

She again shook her head in disbelief, but this time, she looked more tired rather than amused. Well, I hadn't exactly given her a chore of moving aside the drapes, so why was she asking such ridiculous questions?

She grabbed hold and pulled. Once…to no prevail. Twice…to no prevail. On the third attempt, she was rather unlucky. She pulled the drape with such strength that the force of it caused her to lose balance and fall off the stepladder.

It was as if my arms had a mind of their own. I didn't even realize what I was doing until a split second later, light flooded the room…and Belle was in my arms.

The light mesmerized me. The beautiful light that my eyes hadn't met in centuries…

"Thank you."

I tore my eyes from the window to see her. With the sunshine upon her pretty, delicate face, it was as though her beauty had multiplied one thousand times.

Belle was in my arms. She was the light. She had brought it here. My eyes hadn't met the light for quite sometime. Could I adjust to it?

I blinked and set her down, attempting to gain some sort of comprehension of what had exactly happened. She fell into my arms…no, the light fell into my arms…and into my life.

She quickly brushed off her dress. "I'll, uh…I'll put the curtains back up."

A hint of blush colored her cheeks as she said this. As she was about to pick up the drapes, I stopped her.

"Uh…there's no need. I'll get used to it."

"Why did you want me here?"

Another curious question, one I had expected her to ask for quite sometime. Why _did _I want her here? Well, I could answer it, but as always, it would have to be ambiguous or not the whole truth. I wouldn't lie, of course.

"The place was filthy." I replied casually, sipping the dregs of tea in the cup, the _chipped _cup. I should have known by then that she wouldn't accept that for an answer. She was too observant.

Belle gave me an amused look. "I think you were lonely. I mean, any man would be lonely."

But there was something wrong with that last statement. I wasn't a man nor was I lonely. Well…all right, I was quite a bit lonely, but despite that, if my plan in creating what I would soon call the "Dark Curse", I wouldn't be lonely after all.

Oh, what hope, deep down inside, I had back then! I wish I had known then that it wouldn't work.

The darkness of the night loomed over my castle. The only light upon it was the beautiful moon. It's a bit of a parallel, now that I think of it. Throughout the darkness of my life, there is perhaps only one light of happiness in it. My son, of course, and Belle too.

I remembered the anguish in my heart when I had let her go. I couldn't afford to have someone to love and care for in my life. Nobody could love me back anyway (but I would soon learn that that's a lie). I loved my son and that hadn't turned out wonderfully. I was falling in love with her. It was definite. She was the light that I hadn't seen in life for so many long centuries…

This thought was swimming in my head that night as I looked out the window, hoping that by _some_ reason she would come back.

And I kept waiting…and waiting…and waiting…

When I was about to give up any hope of her return, I spotted a figure heading towards my castle…with a basket of straw in their hand.

A wave of joy and relief splashed over me. I could have screamed out in happiness, jumped for joy, flailing my arms in the air…but I couldn't. I had to get back down to the dining hall.

After many flights of stairs that spiraled downwards, I ran inside and seated myself at the wheel. I had picked up a piece of straw and the wheel was rotating when she walked in, basket full of straw in hand and a determined expression on her pretty face. I had found that rather odd at first, but what would happen next explained it.

"Oh, you're back already." I said, trying to not sound as joyful as I felt. "Good, I'm, uh…nearly out of straw."

She set the basket at the foot of the wheel (next to half a dozen baskets, filled to the brim with straw).

"Come on," she said with a smile joyful enough to light up the darkness in my heart. "You're happy that I'm back."

Was I? Of course I was. Much more than she expected. But what was with her chipper attitude all of a sudden?

"I'm not _un_happy."

As I kept on spinning, she walked up behind my seat and put her hands on my shoulders. The gesture seemed a bit intimate to me. Nobody, not even Milah, had willingly been this nice to me…yet in the back of my mind, I still wondered if she had an ulterior motive with this.

"And uh…you promised me a story."

I feigned confusion, due to the fact I didn't want to recall those horrible moments in my life. "Did I?"

"Mm-hmm."

Taking the strand of straw I was about to spin, she set it down and sat down in the seat facing me. "Tell me about your son."

Even then, I wasn't willing to tell her _everything. _Nobody had ever heard of this tale nor was I willing to bring this up again with her, for I feared it would only cause uncontrollable sobbing from me. Just thinking about my poor young son in a world without magic, a land full of many unknown and unspeakable dangers…I had to work twice as hard with the "Dark Curse" when this thought had formed in my mind. I even tried to move aside the probable fact that he may already be dead.

"Well, uh…I lost him…and that's pretty much all there is to say."

I sincerely hoped that she wouldn't question how or why. "And since then…you've loved no one…and no one's loved you."

A frown formed upon my face at these words. Yes, I hadn't loved anybody since my dear Baelfire nor had anybody even attempted to make friends with me after I had become the Dark One, let alone loved me. But why was she mentioning this? She _must_ have an ulterior motive…

The frown was still etched upon my face as I leaned closer to her. "Why did you come back?"

She blinked and softly whispered, "Well, I wasn't going to…but then…something changed my mind."

Her luminous blue eyes were just too distracting all of a sudden. They were becoming closer and closer. I didn't even realize what she was about to do until I felt her soft lips upon my own cracked, wrinkled ones.

This feeling of being in loved and being loved was something I hadn't felt in centuries. Despite the fact it wasn't a fiery, passionate kiss, it still meant a lot to me…but I also felt vulnerable, more human…and much more weaker.

When she let go after what seemed like an eternity in heaven (when it was perhaps, in reality, only ten seconds), I felt something odd; a weakness…almost as though my magic was drastically disappearing.

Belle gasped and placed her hands on my shoulders. "Kiss me again. It's working."

"Wha-what?" I stammered, unsure of what she was speaking about. What was working? I felt drowsy all of a sudden, like I had been under a sleeping curse of thousands of years.

She seemed rather proud of herself when she explained, "_Any _curse can be broken…by true love's kiss."

What I did then is something I have regretted for decades and decades. I stood up so abruptly that I knocked over the spinning wheel (but not the seat Belle was in).

"WHO TOLD YOU THAT?" I yelled in fury. "WHO KNOWS THAT?"

Her beautiful eyes widened in fear in the same manner when I had asked her in exchange for the survival of her father's kingdom. But I didn't care. How dare she had fooled me like this? She knew magic and was _deliberately _attempting to strip me of my powers? Oh, she was going to greatly regret this…

In reply to my question, she stammered out, "I…don't…I…she-"

"She?" I automatically caught from her stammer. There was perhaps only one woman in all this land to have known this valuable piece of information to drain me of my powers. How dared she? How dared that bitch to manipulate this innocent young beauty to do such a thing?

"You…evil…soul." I muttered through clenched teeth as I stalked forward to the full-length mirror that was at the corner of the dining hall. I ripped off the canvas covering it, revealing a _very _dusty reflection of myself.

"This was you! You turned her against me! Do you think you can make me _weak_? Do you think you can defeat me?"

With every word I yelled at her through the glass, the fury inside of me kept building and building. I mentally chastised myself for falling in love with this…"sorceress". It could have ended up to my ultimate demise, but despite this deception of hers, I still couldn't help but love her, deep down inside.

"Who…who are you talking to?"

Oh, she was feigning innocence now? Fury sparked up inside of me and it was as though a match had just been set to the remains of a dying fire. It was one thing to attempt to strip me of my powers, but to pretend to not know of one's employer? It just built up the fire of anger inside me again.

I turned to her and said in a sweet voice (with many jolly gestures), "The queen! Your friend, the queen!"

I frowned and walked towards her in a sense of confusion. My emotions were certainly changing today. "How did _she _get to you?"

New ideas immediately formed in my head after I asked her that rhetorical question she was, no doubt, about to answer with a lie.

"Oh, yes. You're working for her…or is this all you? Is this you being the hero…and killing the beast?"

"But this-"

"Shut up!"

"This means it's true love-"

"Shut the HELL up!"

True love? How dare she use that against me? Unfortunately, my mind had been so addled with fury and rage that I hadn't seen the logic in that. Now that I think back on it, why else would I have lost quite a bit of my powers?

She still wasn't angry with me though. It was frustration and exasperation lacing her words when she screamed, "Why won't you believe me?"

Why wouldn't I? I would give her the full truth here. Grabbing her by the shoulders, I pulled her closer to me and yelled, "Because NO ONE, no one, could ever, EVER, love me!"

I dragged her back to her "room" in a fit of anger (she didn't object to it, nor tried to fight it) and I returned back to the dining hall in a rage that was the worst that I had ever been in.

Never should I have put so many highly breakable items in that dining room. Now that I think back upon it, everything seems like a blur. The only sound I remember was another poor antique being demolished by my own hands.

After I had finished destroying every single being in that damned cabinet full of hundreds of antiques I had no use for, I started on the tea set.

I first examined a teacup. White, decorated with pink flowers accompanied by green stems. So delicate, so weak, so pretty. Not so pretty it probably was when I threw it against a pillar and it shattered to a hundred pieces of porcelain onto the floor.

I was on a roll. Examining a teacup for a split second and then smashing it against the same pillar. They felt like my heart. My dark heart that I had allowed light into and now? Now it was just a pile destroyed nothingness, just like it was before.

I wasn't conscious of my actions though. Anger had blinded me into a rage that I could not control, not even with my magic. All I could perceive while destroying that wretched tea set was _why _that bitch, who had been _my _apprentice, would attempt to strip me of my powers.

That wasn't even the worst part. Why did she have to manipulate Belle? That poor innocent being who probably hadn't done a single wrong thing in her whole life. Did she have her under some sort of a spell? No, that wasn't it. Regina wouldn't play that way. Then that only left one other possibility: she had willingly helped her, trying to bring me down.

I lost count of how many poor souls I killed…or teacups for that matter. The remains of what seemed like so many (when it was only a dozen or so) lay shattered upon my rug.

I grasped the last teacup on the tray, prepared to shatter it into oblivion, just like I did with its friends, when something caught my eye. Consciousness splashed over me and I was suddenly aware of the cup. Why should I have been? Ah, but this cup, this was already chipped. Belle's cup…

With my anger nearly controlled, I set it upon the empty tray with such precision, such, care, it was as though the tea cup was an individual being.

Inhaling a deep breath I went upstairs, leaving the mess, forgetting Belle wasn't there anymore to clean it up.

"And all you'll have…is an empty heart…and a chipped cup."

Her tears were just about ready to jump out of her gorgeous blue eyes at these last words of hers. The last words I would ever hear from her in nearly three decades.

I didn't want to let her go, but at the time, I felt like I had to. These powers I had, this magic that I had acquired over the centuries. To think I would give them all up just for a single person's love? The idea was preposterous.

But it wasn't until a couple days later, when Regina had told me of Belle's death that I had realized I had made the same mistake I had with Baelfire centuries ago.

I wasn't about to believe this evil queen for a single moment, but the tale she told me seemed so real, so probable, that my distress had clouded my senses. My senses that would have usually immediately suspected her of lying. Another mistake I had made that would soon affect the course of my life.

It took me nearly a month to get over her death. I couldn't remember a single thing I did in those thirty days after I realized her intentions were pure. She had truly loved me and didn't realize what she was doing. She hadn't been working for the queen after all.

It was only after going through a drawer and coming across a sketch of Baelfire one-day that I remembered the Dark Cure. Something to exchange this whole world for another, all for me to search for my son. I trusted Regina to enact it (something that was a miracle in itself) because of her stepdaughter and her true love. Why else would I have attempted so hard in getting them together?

However, after getting into Storybrooke, I regretted my optimism. A decade and a half of searching passed and there was still no sign of my son _anywhere_ in this town, which only left one possibility: he was outside of this tiny place and in another state, even, with more dangers that this town would ever possess.

I wouldn't give up though. I had to get the savior to break the curse. I found such a liking to a young child that I was to procure for Regina, but his mother? A woman named Emma Swan. It was worth a chance after all. Besides, there was some familiarity to that child I couldn't quite put my finger on…

I trusted Regina to be ruthlessly strict to this child, causing him to wonder whom his true mother was. And _that _led the savior into this town of ours.

"Excuse me…are you Mr. Gold?"

That voice…it was so familiar, yet I knew a horrible memory was _somehow _associated with her. Nevertheless, she _was _a customer and I had to answer her.

"Yes I am, but I'm afraid my shop's closed-"

My heart skipped a beat. My stomach lurched. When I saw her face, my eyes widened and it felt like the oxygen in the shop had disappeared.

It was her…Belle. Of course she looked different in ragged clothes of a wool jacket, fur boots, and an old fading dress, but there was absolutely no mistaking those light cerulean eyes or that beautiful mane of chestnut brown hair.

I tried to keep myself steady on my cane as she continued. "I was told to find you and tell you that…Regina locked me up."

She seemed uneasy with her words as though she didn't quite understand what she was saying. Of course she didn't, due to this curse. But my mind tried to register exactly what she was saying. _Regina _locked her up?

I moved towards her in a daze as she asked, "Does this mean anything to you or…"

Her voice trailed off as I reached out and put a hand on her arm. I gripped it, my heart rate increased as the truth suddenly dawned on me.

"You're…you're real." I breathed out. "She-she did this to you?"

She nodded, still staring at me in confusion. "I-I was told you'd…protect me."

The barriers I had formed around myself these twenty-eight years in Storybrooke suddenly came crashing down. She was real…and Regina had lied to me. Oh, I would deal with _her _later, but for now…at least I had her back. I was deeply in debt to whoever had sent her to me.

"Yes, yes I'll protect you!" I suddenly cried out, tears forming in my eyes, tears that I was unsure of where they were coming from.

I stepped forth and embraced her, vowing to myself _never _to let go of her this time. Our embrace only lasted about five seconds though, for she gently pushed me away and stared at me with that same dazed, confused expression.

"I'm…I'm sorry. Do…do I know you?"

Of course…that wretched curse I was forced to make to find my son had taken its toll on her, just like it had with everyone. Still, it didn't stop the tears from pouring down my cheeks.

"No…but you will."

When the curse broke, my first action (next to bringing magic into this town) was to make Regina pay for what she had done. But by sending a wraith for her, it caused Belle to be unsure of whom I was. When the wraith had been banished (with some _unfortunate _circumstances), she came back to me, giving me another chance. I first refused of course, but she was just dedicated to changing me into a different man.

I spent three nights in the basement, concocting spells and potions, attempting to find some way to break this new curse when Belle found out. I was more than upset when I found out she went missing. I was near devastated for I didn't want a repeat of what happened before.

I saved her, saved her from losing her memory when she was send over the town lines. But she still didn't trust me. After giving her the library, she figured it would be a foolish attempt to "win" her back. That's when I decided to be honest with her, just as the prince advised me to.

I had to say goodbye to her, but not before telling her _everything._

I told her everything. About my son, the curse, everything. I admitted, _finally_, that I was a coward, using magic as a crutch. I didn't believe she would do anything after this. She didn't deserve me, not after I thought upon it.

But when she invited me to have a hamburger at Granny's sometime, I felt overjoyed. I didn't express my feelings though. I acted as happy as I felt I should.

For once in my life, I believed that maybe, just _maybe_, we were off to a good start.

**A/N: Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! I want to know what you thought! Enjoy the episode on tonight! **


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